Updates from the edge of the Web

Become a Test Pilot!

Today, we are announcing that our Test Pilot platform is opening with the release of the first Test Pilot add-on for Firefox 3.5. We are looking for Firefox users of all levels of skill and all levels of technical knowledge to help improve Firefox and Labs experiments.

How test pilots help

Test Pilot is an opt-in program that everyone on the Web can join to improve the Web experience by conducting or participating in usability related tests.

When you install the Test Pilot add-on, you will automatically become a Test pilot, and you will receive the notice for upcoming tests. You will have the option to quit tests or leave the platform. If the test requires you to install a new feature or product, the platform will ask for your permission. At the end of these experiments, you can choose whether or not to submit your test data.

As a test pilot, you will not only be able to try out the newest features and user interface ideas before anyone else, but also see and learn how those results may contribute back to the product design.

For now, we will start the Test Pilot program with a survey to understand what type of Web users this pilot community represents. Soon, we will roll out the first tests on specific Firefox features and other Mozilla Labs experiments.

You control your own data

Mozilla takes user privacy very seriously. Being a test pilot means that you will be the one to test the product, and it is not you that will be tested. We are only interested in your feedback on the product features, not information about you. Depending on the particular test, the Test Pilot extension may automatically collect some data about the product being tested, but you have control of deciding whether to submit this data.

Previously, we set out a series of guiding principles to direct our project development. Since then, we have had several rounds of discussions between our own engineers, legal experts, and people in our community from around the word, to form a respectful and controllable process for people to participate in the Test Pilot program without giving up their privacy. This privacy policy explains how information will be collected from participants and how participants have control on their data. We would like to highlight a few:

Participants’ data will be transmitted only when you willingly complete all following actions:
– Sign up for the Test Pilot program by installing the extension.
– Submit your data when the test is finished. You will be able to review all the data before choosing whether or not to submit it.

Your test data will only be stored in anonymous form. None of it will be directly associated with any personally identifiable information about you.

All test data will be aggregated and made available to the general public. That is, the only information made public will be statistical information about the test pilot community as a whole. No data about any individual user will ever be shared.

You may opt out from the Test Pilot program at any time.

The privacy policy is still in its early shape. We welcome feedback on this privacy policy and how it may be improved.

Get Involved

Mozilla Labs is a virtual lab where people come together online to create, experiment and play with Web innovations for the public benefit. The Test Pilot program is still in its 0.1 release, so it is unpolished, unfinished and just getting started. We are planning on revamping things for the next iterations within the coming weeks. We need your feedback, both on the particulars and on the direction.There are many ways to join the team and get involved:

Jinghua is the head of User Experience Research team in Mozilla. Prior to joining Mozilla, she worked in Google and Microsoft as an advocate and catalyst for understanding users needs. She loves to help projects align product strategy with user needs, and solve real (un-articulated) problems for people.